On Dundas West in the Junction, there is what appears to be an old funeral home with the sign Rue Morgue House of Horror on the front. What kind of evil lurks inside?—Louise Montgomery, Bloor West Village

That’s the W.M. Speers Funeral Home, dating back to 1898, when hearses were still horse drawn. Old William Speers was a noted local philanthropist, putting as much effort into helping the living as into the disposal of the dead. He personally funded the construction of local churches and hospitals (as well as a camp for disabled children on Georgian Bay), and is credited with creating Toronto’s first mechanized ambulance service—consisting of one 1916 McLaughlin-Buick.